Illuminated rotating sign



May 11, 1954 A. A- CLEVENGER ET AL 2,677,908

ILLUMINATED ROTATING SIGN Filed July 10, 1950 2 Shets-Sheet 1 I2 IO INVENTORS:

I Hume/L4. Clem/ya! .9 fi'oz'aonlfilezzezzger ditty y 1954 A. A. CLEVENGER ETAL 2,677,908

ILLUMINATED ROTATING SIGN 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

Filed July 10, 1950 INVENTORS: Clevelgger Clevezqger flvel'eit Al. Gordon I. 52am Patented May 11, 1954 UNITED STATS ATENT OFFICE 2,677,908 ILLUMINATED ROTATING SIGN Averett A. Olevengcr and Gordon H. Glevenger, Chicago, Ill.

Application July 10, 1950, Serial No.

4 Claims.

This invention relates in The ordinary sign has opposite faces which are separately illuminated and can be seen only from one side thereof,

illuminated.

The present other signs by or from both sides if both sides invention is distinguished from same time.

A further object of the invention is to provide a g rotating sign with letters or characters arranged A further object of the invention is to provide improved means for mounting a rotating sign of this type.

A still further object of this invention is to provide improved means for illuminating a rotating sign.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the specification and will be apparent from the accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation with some of the parts in section showing a rotating illuminated sign, in accordance with this invention;

2 is a sectional view as taken on the line of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a letter for a sign which is not symmetrical at both sides of the vertical center thereof;

l is a side elevation of a sign with some of the parts in section of a sign which is illuminated by a central lighting tube; Fig. 5 is a plan view of a support and a contact brush at the upper end of the lamp; and Fig. 6 is a sectional detail view of the mounting and connection at the upper end of the lamp and dome.

This invention is described as a rotatable sign which extends in a vertical direction and is enclosed by a transparent guard or holder. letters or characters may be illuminated by external lights at one end of the sign or by a lightthe letters or characters that are not symmetrical about a vertical axis, the sign appears the same of the motor in vertical direction. Around the projecting ilange 22 be seated and sealed in the flange of the casing E2.

Extending centrally in the container is a post 2:? having a pin 26 for securing it at the bottom to the upper end 5 shaft l4 and at the which securely attaches the letters to the posts and to each other.

At the bottom of the container and at the sides thereof are electric lamps :32 supported by sockets 44 and having electrical conductors it and 48 extending therefrom outside of the casing.

When the motor is rotated, the ost is also rotated carrying with it the letters which are illuminated by the lamps. The letters may be colored and the post may be made of a transparent light projecting material such as Lucite so that the letters or characters are visible through the transparent container from all sides thereof. When rapidly rotated with symmetrical letters, the sign gives the appearance of a solid letter and gives the same appearance in any direction substantially in the plane of vision of the sign whether the sign panels are opaque or translucent.

If the characters or letters are not symmetrical about a vertical axis, a character or letter 5 2 as shown in Fig. 3 may be which the letter post 25. Instead of overlapping the outer edges of the letter 50, the material 52 may be trimmed to the edge of the letter and the non-symmetrical spaces 53 and 54 may be opaqued by paint or other material so that these spaces will not show through upon the letters secured at the other sides of any of the characters. This will make the sign clearer and will not confuse the letters or cause the parts thereof to run together as they are rapidly rotated.

In the form of the invention shown by Fig. 4, a straight tubular lamp Bil of the commonly used fluorescent type is mounted at the center of a surrounding container and has projecting pins 62 at the ends for electrically connecting it to suitable supports. One support 64 is connected to the motor shaft l4 and provides an internal connection 66 with a bottom contact ring 68 engaged by an electrical contact bush It. At the other end is a support 12 having an electrical connection it t therein for making contact with one or both of the pins 62 and having an end ring it engaged by an electrical contact brush 18 secured to a conductor 8i] at the inside of the container l3.

Extending through the dome 20 of the container at the top thereof is a bearing pin 32 for engaging the support 12 to provide a bearing therefor. Connected to this pin is a conductor 84 extending at the inside of the container it to the bottom thereof. The bearing pin 8?. has an electrical connection 85 in the support it with another of the lamp pins 62 and is connected to the conductor 84, and the lower end or the con-- ductor is connected to a terminal 85 within the casing l2 so that electrical connections may be made with both ends of the tube lamp at for illuminating it.

Surrounding the lamp 513 and forming a support for the sign letters is a hollow transparent tube 30 which may have three outer surfaces for the attachment of the letters as shown in Fig. 2. The lower end of the tube 90 rests upon the upper edge of the support 54 and the tube may be placed about the lamp 60 before the lamp is inserted in the container 18.

With this construction, the sign is rotated and illuminated throughout the full length of the transparent container it. A glow is given by the lamp to the letters and also to the container throughout the entire length thereof so that the letters may be more easily distinguished from all sides of the sign, both by day and by night.

In this form, the surrounding tube 9%] may also be of plastic material and the tube may be opaqued by paint or other material wherever necessary to maintain the shape of the letters.

While preferred forms of the invention have been described in some detail, they should be regarded by Way of illustrations and examples rather than restrictions or limitations thereof, as many changes in the construction, combination and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A rotating sign, comprising a central post and means at one end of the post for rapidly and continuously rotating it, the post being triangular in cross section, and characters for the post having three similar sets applied to the triangular surfaces of the post to rotate substantially about the vertical center line of each character and the edges of the characters overlapping the post and secured together to present three substantially angular faces for each character.

2. A rotating sign, comprising a post having outer longitudinal faces at an angle to each other, a plurality of characters applied to the angular faces, characters of the same kind being applied to three adjacent angularly related portions of the post with the vertical center line of the letter substantially at the post, the overlapping edges of the characters being secured back to back so that there are three relatively angular surfaces for each character, and means for rapidly and continuously rotating the post about the axis thereof so that the characters appear continuous when viewed from all sides of the sign.

3. In an illuminated rotating sign, a transparent post having letter positions along the post comprising outer surfaces at angles to each other, a plurality of the same letter for each letter position secured along its longitudinal contral portion to the angular surfaces of the post and projecting laterally from the edges of the post with the overlapping edges of the letters secured together back to back, a transparent container extending over the post and letters and closed at the outer end, a bearing in the outer end of the container for the end of the post, a supporting casing at the other end of the container, a motor in the casing secured to the adjacent end of the post for rapidly and continuously rotating it, and lamps in the casing for illuminating the container, the post, and the letters therein.

4. In an illuminated rotatable sign, a transparent hollow post having a post type of lamp therein, the outer face of the post having letter positions at angles to each other, a plurality of similar letters for each position, the similar letters being secured along its longitudinal central portion to the angular outer surfaces of the post and the edges of the letters projecting beyond the post and the backs of the projecting portion secured together, a container closed at one end to extend over the post, the lamp, and the letters, means forming a bearing at the closed end of the container for mounting the post and lamp for rotation therein, electrical connections from the closed end of the container engaging the lamp and extending at the inside of the container to the other end thereof, a supporting casing for the container, a motor in the casing secured to the adjacent end of the supporting post for rapidly and continuously rotating it, and electrical connections with the lamp at the motor end for completing a circuit through the lamp, the lamp illuminating the casing, the hollow post, the letters, and the casing.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

